-after “I want to sleep with you elbow to elbow” by Joyce Mansour (translated by Emilie Moorhouse)

I want to lie naked with my head
tucked in the curve of your neck
our hair braided like a river
your hand on my ass
and my toes in the crook of your knee.
I want to recline with your sex
clutched between my thighs
sweating like a tall beer
blissed-out as wild strawberries.
I want to bide with you front to back
and back to front
inside out and outside in
less than a hair’s breadth apart
quiet as rabbits on a sweltering day
in the tall grass of summer
eyes shut and breathless.
I want to sleep splayed beneath your undercarriage
blessed by your lips on mine
and die either today or tomorrow
sated and satisfied as a toad in the mud.